Introduce Foreign Method

class Report {
  // ...
  void sendReport() {
    Date nextDay = new Date(previousEnd.getYear(),
      previousEnd.getMonth(), previousEnd.getDate() + 1);
    // ...
  }
}

class Report {
  // ...
  void sendReport() {
    Date newStart = nextDay(previousEnd);
    // ...
  }
  private static Date nextDay(Date arg) {
    return new Date(arg.getYear(), arg.getMonth(), arg.getDate() + 1);
  }
}

class Report 
{
  // ...
  void SendReport() 
  {
    DateTime nextDay = previousEnd.AddDays(1);
    // ...
  }
}

class Report 
{
  // ...
  void SendReport() 
  {
    DateTime nextDay = NextDay(previousEnd);
    // ...
  }
  private static DateTime NextDay(DateTime date) 
  {
    return date.AddDays(1);
  }
}

class Report {
  // ...
  public function sendReport() {
    $previousDate = clone $this->previousDate;
    $paymentDate = $previousDate->modify("+7 days");
    // ...
  }
}

class Report {
  // ...
  public function sendReport() {
    $paymentDate = self::nextWeek($this->previousDate);
    // ...
  }
  /**
   * Foreign method. Should be in Date.
   */
  private static function nextWeek(DateTime $arg) {
    $previousDate = clone $arg;
    return $previousDate->modify("+7 days");
  }
}

class Report:
    # ...
    def sendReport(self):
        nextDay = Date(self.previousEnd.getYear(),
            self.previousEnd.getMonth(), self.previousEnd.getDate() + 1)
        # ...

class Report:
    # ...
    def sendReport(self):
        newStart = self._nextDay(self.previousEnd)
        # ...
        
    def _nextDay(self, arg):
        return Date(arg.getYear(), arg.getMonth(), arg.getDate() + 1)

class Report {
  // ...
  sendReport(): void {
    let nextDay: Date = new Date(previousEnd.getYear(),
      previousEnd.getMonth(), previousEnd.getDate() + 1);
    // ...
  }
}

class Report {
  // ...
  sendReport() {
    let newStart: Date = nextDay(previousEnd);
    // ...
  }
  private static nextDay(arg: Date): Date {
    return new Date(arg.getFullYear(), arg.getMonth(), arg.getDate() + 1);
  }
}

Why Refactor

You have code that uses the data and methods of a certain class. You realize that the code will look and work much better inside a new method in the class. But you cannot add the method to the class because, for example, the class is located in a third-party library.

This refactoring has a big payoff when the code that you want to move to the method is repeated several times in different places in your program.

Since you are passing an object of the utility class to the parameters of the new method, you have access to all of its fields. Inside the method, you can do practically everything that you want, as if the method were part of the utility class.

Benefits

• Removes code duplication. If your code is repeated in several places, you can replace these code fragments with a method call. This is better than duplication even considering that the foreign method is located in a suboptimal place.

Drawbacks

• The reasons for having the method of a utility class in a client class will not always be clear to the person maintaing the code after you. If the method can be used in other classes, you could benefit by creating a wrapper for the utility class and placing the method there. This is also beneficial when there are several such utility methods. Introduce Local Extension can help with this.

How to Refactor

1. Create a new method in the client class.

2. In this method, create a parameter to which the object of the utility class will be passed. If this object can be obtained from the client class, you do not have to create such a parameter.

3. Extract the relevant code fragments to this method and replace them with method calls.

4. Be sure to leave the Foreign method tag in the comments for the method along with the advice to place this method in a utility class if such becomes possible later. This will make it easier to understand why this method is located in this particular class for those who will be maintaining the software in the future.

Reading is boring

Aren't you bored of reading so much? Try out our new interactive learning course on refactoring. It has more content and much more fun.

Learn more